Which phone should I buy for running Replicant?

[Paul Kocialkowski]

Le dimanche 29 septembre 2013 à 22:30 +0300, Paul Sokolovsky a écrit :
> All in all, I'd be really interested to know if available source code
> is enough to reproduce WiFi implementation for a
> compatible/new/SDR-like chip.

I don't think (though I may be wrong, I don't know enough there) that
the actual implementation of the WiFi protocols down to the firmware has
ever been the problem. The problem is about the hardware itself (no
proper documentation of how it all works) rather than what we do with
it. I've already seen read-only WiFi traces from RTL-SDR, there seems to
be no magic in it. Also, I guess some other chips, like ath9k, have
their Linux driver to do most of the work, and very little is left to
the firmware, so it's nearly there already.

Maybe someone already experimented at doing a WiFi and/or bluetooth
transceiver with the USRP.

> BT is much simpler protocol, there's very
> little magic in it, and it's definitely possible to collect existing
> code for more or less complete firmware/stack implementation. It's of
> course won't allow to release devices with "WiFi" and "Bluetooth"
> markings, as that requires certifications and/or licensing, but we talk
> possibility of community-developer firmware here. As both these
> protocols are ISM 2.4MHz, it won't be exactly easy to enforce
> non-allowance of this. Definitely, not easier than prohibit
> alternative MP3 codecs. GSM is different story, its strictly licensed
> and controlled frequency, so any "intruding" will be prosecuted by
> government (that's rather good than bad I'd say), even though some
> aspects of GSM exist in FOSS (I don't know how much).

Look at OsmocomBB and all the other related projects: it's already there
and works, the implementation is no secret, only the hardware-specific
parts make it hard for the project to extend to actual phones.

> And besides the above, there's always "throw it all and make your own"
> approach, just like OGG waved bye-bye to MP3. Achieving competitive
> speeds is not trivial, but 1-2Mbit/s are readily achievable with
> off-the-shelf dirty cheap modules (like nRF24).

Except that this time, we're talking about hardware and infrastructure
that we don't have the money or power to replace. Only big companies
with big money to invest can afford to create the infrastructure for a
network like GSM. That means we have to cope with what they decided the
network would be. As for WiFi and friends, again, I doubt the issue is
about the protocol implementation, even though there are indeed
royalties and patent issues that make it hard for us to actually create
and sell Open Hardware that does WiFi and/or Bluetooth.

-- 
Paul Kocialkowski, Replicant developer

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